Bank Of America^® Business Advantage Customized Cash Rewards Mastercard^® Credit Card Review [2024]: Good Rate, Not-So-Good Spending Cap

Card basics

Who should get this card?

You should get this card if your business has concentrated spending in one of the following areas:

• Gas or charging electric or hybrid vehicles
• At office supply stores
• Travel, including airfare, hotels, parking, car rentals, and rideshares
• TV, telecom, and wireless, including cell phone service and hardline phones
• Computer services, including software, network and cloud services, computer maintenance, and data processing
• Business consulting services, including legal and accounting services

Some specific business owners who would benefit from this card include:

• A general contractor or a construction or HVAC business that spends on gas for multiple vehicles
• A marketing business with a sales team that expenses travel to see clients
• A doctor planning to expand their practice and bring on new partners who needs to expense consults with a lawyer
• A call center expensing telecom services
• A managed security service provider that needs to pay for constant software updates and a top-of-the-line network

Here’s how it could help. Let’s say you own a general contracting company and you own two pickups. Your trucks both have 36-gallon tanks, and you fill them up once per week. Assuming regular gas costs $3.42 per gallon, you spend about $246 per week.

Gas cards typically offer a discount by the gallon. For example, the Phillips 66® Conoco® 76® Business Universal Card offers a discount of $0.07 per gallon. That brings your gas costs down to $3.35 per gallon, and you spend $241 per week. That’s a savings of $5 per week or $260 per year.

Now let’s say you use the Business Customized Cash Card, and it has gas as one of its 3% categories, which it does as of this writing. You get $7 per week cash back, based on your $246 spending. That comes to $364 per year, which is significantly more than the gas card.

If you qualify for even the lowest tier of Preferred rewards, even better (more on that below). You would earn 25% more on your cashback rewards, which elevates your cash back from $364 per year to $455 per year. If you qualify for the highest tier, your cash back would be elevated from $364 per year to $637 per year.

More on Preferred Rewards for Business

And while the highest earning rates on the Business Advantage Customized Cash Rewards are strong and competitive, they become truly outstanding when paired with Preferred Rewards for Business.

To qualify, you need an eligible Bank of America business checking account. You also need to meet a minimum 3-month combined daily average balance across your qualifying Bank of America business deposit accounts and Merrill business investment accounts.

Here is how the Preferred Rewards for Business tiers break down:

Let’s look at why this matters. Earning 3% on $50,000 in a year would net you $1,500 cash back. Boost your rate by 75%, and you would be earning 5.25% on that same amount. And $50,000 in business spending at 5.25% would net you $2,625, or $1,125 more cash back, and every little bit helps.

Mind the cap

The Business Advantage Customized Cash Rewards card has a spending cap of $50,000 each calendar year on the highest reward rates. Once you hit the cap, your reward rate decreases, leaving you earning just on .

If this is potentially the case for you, you could mitigate that low rate by switching to a higher-earning card once you hit the cap. You could keep it in the Bank of America family by switching to the Business Advantage Unlimited Cash Rewards card once you hit your cap, which earns unlimited 1.5% cash back on all purchases.

Or you could switch to a card from another issuer — possibly one that also has a cap. That way, you get the best rates on both cards.

For example, with the Chase Ink Business Cash^® Credit Card, you earn 5% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at office supply stores and on internet, cable and phone services each account anniversary year; 2% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at gas stations and restaurants each account anniversary year; and 1% cash back on all other purchases.

You could use the Business Advantage Customized Cash until you hit the cap, then swap it with the Chase Ink Business Cash card to maximize your cash earnings. Or vice versa.

Other benefits and perks

Competitive welcome bonus

While it’s nothing to write home about, the Business Advantage Customized Cash has a solid and, more importantly, achievable welcome bonus. You can earn a $300 online statement credit after you make at least $3,000 in net purchases in the first 90 days of your account opening.

This bonus is similar to the bonuses of other Bank of America small business cards. It’s also similar to the bonuses offered by the Ink Business Cash^® Credit Card and the The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card.

$0 annual fee

The $0 annual fee makes this a good fit for small business owners who may not want to spend money on an annual fee. Or more frugal business owners in general.

And while it’s helpful, it’s certainly not a feature unique to this card. For example, Bank of America’s Business Advantage Unlimited Cash Rewards Card has a $0 annual fee. The Ink Business Cash credit card, Chase’s offering most comparable to this card, also has a $0 annual fee.

Intro APR offer

With the Bank of America Customized Cash card, you receive 0% intro APR for 9 billing cycles on purchases (then 18.49% - 28.49% Variable).

While this is a strong offer, if an intro APR offer is the primary reason for getting a card, you may want to go with the Ink Business Cash. With its intro offer, you receive 0% intro APR for 12 months on purchases, then 18.49% - 24.49% Variable.

Why you might want a different card

Spending limits

Customized categories are already one thing to keep track of. The spending cap on the highest rates is another. While every business owner should be keeping track of spending, this might be a bit much for some.

If you prefer more of a “set it and forget it” approach, a card like the Bank of America Business Advantage Unlimited Cash Rewards card is a better fit. It earns unlimited 1.5% cash back on all purchases, and you still get the boost from Preferred Rewards for Business.

Foreign transaction fees

This isn’t the best credit card if your business incurs international travel related purchases as you’ll be charged 3% in foreign transaction fees. If you’d like to stick with a Bank of America business card but avoid the foreign transaction fee, the Bank of America^® Business Advantage Travel Rewards World Mastercard^® credit card is a better choice.

Credit requirements

The Business Advantage Customized Cash Rewards typically requires an excellent credit score. Depending on your credit score and other eligibility factors, you might find it easier to qualify for another one of the best cashback business credit cards. For example, the Ink Business Cash card requires good-to-excellent credit.

Several factors go into qualifying for a business credit card, so be sure to consider your situation before applying.

Earning and redeeming Bank of America rewards

Best ways to earn

Obviously, the best way to earn is to match your spending with the highest earning rate. You can change your category of choice once per month, and available categories include:

• Gas stations and EV Charging Stations
• Office supply stores
• Travel
• TV, telecom, and wireless
• Computer services
• Business consulting services

If you don’t change your category, the default choice category is gas stations and EV charging stations.

So if your spending doesn’t align with these categories or you don’t like the idea of monitoring your spending categories that closely, this card won’t be right for you.

Maximizing your redemptions

The Bank of America Business Advantage Customized Cash Rewards card offers these redemption options:

• Deposits into your Bank of America checking or savings account
• Statement credits
• Mailed checks

You won’t receive more value by using one of these redemption options over another, so it comes down to your personal preference with how you redeem your rewards. But keep in mind that receiving a bank deposit or statement credit on your card is typically safer than waiting for a check in the mail that could be lost or stolen. Plus, you get your funds sooner.

A strong alternative

If the Bank of America^® Business Advantage Customized Cash Rewards Mastercard^® credit card isn’t the right fit, consider the Ink Business Cash.

If your business expenses better align with its bonus categories, you could earn more rewards with Ink Business Cash than with the Business Advantage Customized Cash Rewards.

Like the Business Advantage Customized Cash card, it has a $0 annual fee. It offers 5% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at office supply stores and on internet, cable and phone services each account anniversary year; 2% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at gas stations and restaurants each account anniversary year; and 1% cash back on all other purchases.

So its highest rate is higher than the Customized Cash Rewards card, but the caps work a bit differently. And its highest rate is only higher if you don’t have the highest tier of Preferred Rewards for Business. If you qualify for the Platinum Honors tier, you’re likely to earn more with a Bank of America small business card.

FAQ

Bottom line

We like that the Bank of America Business Advantage Customized Cash Rewards Mastercard credit card gives you the option to choose in which categories you earn the most cash back. And Preferred Rewards for Business members earn even more.

But if you don’t want to have to remember to change your categories each quarter or deal with spending caps, then another Business Advantage card (or another business credit card altogether) might be a better option.

Check out our other business credit cards to learn more.